Interview Questions and Interview Tips for Aged Care Jobs

Aged Care Job Interview Questions

So, have you finished your aged care training? If you haven’t, learn how you can get your Certificate III in Aged Care training here (click the link and request a free info pack for more information). If you have finished your training, congratulations! It’s time to put your hard work and training to good use and get an aged care job.

Interviewing for any job can be daunting. We’ve compiled a list of sample aged care interview questions that will help you prepare for that all-important meeting with your potential employer. The questions are broken down into 2 sections:

• General interview questions – applying to anyone going for a job interview!

But how do you get an interview for an Aged Care job in the first place?

Make Your Aged Care Resume Stronger

Before you get scheduled for a job interview, you first have to send in your resume to hiring managers. This means that you have to make sure that your resume has enough information to convince them to meet and talk with you.

If you have not done aged care training already, it might help you do just that.

One of the most common courses is the Certificate III in Aged Care which covers many skills needed by care providers. It is a nationally accredited course that was developed together with actual organisations in the Aged Care industry. Having a qualification such as this can strhttp://www.inspireeducation.net.au/courses/aged-care-disability-courses/certificate-iii-aged-care-course/engthen your resume and help you perform better when you get invited for an interview.

You can also try the Certificate III in Home and Community Care. This course will train you to go out and work in people’s homes to provide home care. If you already have a qualification in Aged Care, it is very easy to add the Home and Community Care qualification to your resume.

• Interview Question #20: “How to see your career in aged care progressing over the next few years?”

Aged Care Job Interview Tips

Look good

Wear clean, neat clothes that are safe for a workplace. Practical clothes like pants and a t-shirt would be appropriate for many aged care job interviews. The patients you will work with may come from a wide variety of social and religious backgrounds so do not wear clothes with offensive words or pictures.

Be on time

You will need to be on time every day for work, so be on time for the interview. It’s good to arrive 10 minutes early so you have time to calm down and catch your breathe. Take a water bottle with you because you might be talking for a long time.

Be polite

You will be working with many aged care patients every day. You might need to help them with intimate personal manners. If you are polite, it shows people that you respect them. It will help you build good relationships with your patients. Start by being polite in the interview and you can show your employer you have good manners.

Don’t want to work in Aged Care any more?

Sometimes it’s good to try a new type of work. If you have worked in aged care and love working as a carer, one of these courses can open up exciting new work opportunities for you:

Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care – this course will allow you to go and work in child care centres. You can work with babies and little children as a child care worker. You will look over them while they play, help them learn, feed them food and drinks and make sure they are safe.

Certificate III in Disability Care – this course will allow you to work with people with a disability. They might be little children, adults or aged care patients. Disability care workers can help disabled people live a normal life. You will normally do work around the house and provide personal care, but also take people on walks, to the gym, to see movies, to get coffee and other normal activities.

These questions are just a sample of the kinds of things employers might ask you to help you prepare. It is best if you work out the answers for yourself so they’re stuck in your memory and you will remember them when you are in the interview and feeling stressed. Many of these questions are asking about your own, personal experiences so really need to be answered by you.

Hi Malani! Your potential employers are likely have their own criteria for what is the “correct” answer so it’s hard to come up with one definitive answer. The good news is, you have almost everything you need to answer them if you’ve gone through formal aged care training and have work experience.

For example, many of the questions are scenarios where you have to cater to the needs of a patient. In these scenarios, you should recall what you were taught about providing care, the frameworks, the documentation procedures etc. to come up with what you think is the best course of action. I hope that helps. Good luck on your interview Malani! 🙂

HI thank you for your assistance in the questions. To better prepare myself. Is it possible to attain some examples to the questions. It would be great to ease being nervous, especially if you have been unemployed for sometime.
thank you

The Aged Care Industry is in allot of trouble if people really need all the answers to these questions and then secure a position, I’m searching for helpful tips and get a general jist of questions asked to prepare me, Figen olcer sounds the same as me just needing to get my words around the right way, know it in my head but not practicing out loud or bouncing answe rs of a real person,ill be talking the answers out to myself when I get ready in the morning lol

this is what frustrated me doing the course! Everyone wants a quick easy solution to get into aged care such as wanting the trainers to give answers for them!
THank you for this great guide on how to prepare… yes the answers would be helpful but then it would put me in the category of being a carer who really does not know how to be one in theory, as it is such a hard industry to get into I think the interview should be screening out the ones who have no idea!
THANK YOU

Oh my god! Are you all serious?? If you need the answers perhaps you aren’t right for the job? All these questions are easily answered if you know what you are doing!!
If you don’t know the answers to most of these you shouldn’t be nursing anybody!!

Im only new to this profession and i to cant believe people want the answers to these questions ????????????????????????????????The answers are all easy and people should already know before they even go looking for interviews ????????????????

I agree with Kristie, you just need to THINK about the questions and write answers down for yourself. I found the scenario questions so helpful,

I have just turned 50 and have been a primary carer for my father and mother who have both passed away now. Mum ended up in a nursing home and I feel I would love to contribute to that area now, but I have lost my confidence (I used to be an Admin Officer at my local Council for 14 years), then in between having a family of my own, caring for my folks and running a cleaning business, I am unfulfilled but so unsure of myself, my age for a start! Anyway, the thought is there and in July I hope to start a Cert III in Aged Care and then hopefully get local work placement

Thanks for sharing your story, Kate! It’s never too late to start investing in yourself again. You may have taken a break from work, but it sounds like you were still productive in providing care. Make sure you write about your experience in caring for your parents in your cover letter when you start looking for work placement. It may help to differentiate yourself from other applicants.

Hi Ranjit! It’s hard to come up with a definite answer to these interview questions because their purpose is to see what you would do in different scenarios. Have you gone through formal Aged Care training yet? If you have, then you likely have what you need to answer them already. Simply recall what you were taught and think how the principles, best practices, ethical frameworks etc. can be best applied to come up with your own unique answer 🙂

Oh wow, these are some neat interview questions for someone who is wanting to help out in an aged care center. I guess it’s something that the staff does to determine if each individual will treat the elderly with great care. Do all aged care centers do the same things as well? http://www.evergreenlifecare.org.au

Great list of questions to help prepare for an interview, I am still studying my cert 3 course but have an opportunity to get a foot in the door with a community organisation. I had to interview just to get into the TAFE course in doing, so many applicants and not enough spaces, that was hard and asked many questions I didn’t even think they would of eg how have you dealt with a conflict in the work place, how would you put someone at ease when assisting with personal care, will you be able to assist with toileting a client etc. Just have to be prepared, be honest and show that you are a caring natured person that’s fit the role.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Michelle! It looks like competition is rising because of the increase in demand for Aged Carers. Coming in prepared to show that you’re a naturally caring person is a great tip too. Many students and applicants become nervous when they’re invited in for an interview, but if they’re qualified, they should be able to answer whatever question employers throw if they can remain calm and remember their training 🙂

The amount of people asking for the ‘answers’ to these questions is beyond belief. If you personally do not have the answers yourself then you shouldn’t be in any job, let alone looking after people who require care with excellent communication. Goodness me, what a sad state of affairs. This isn’t a page where answers are provided, you have to relate or apply your OWN answers. I hope no one has to tie their shoelaces.

Seriously I was just going to say that, they cant even see how many people have already asked for answers and again they are asking for the same thing. These are really basic questions, most of them are related to your own personality and behaviour. Some are situational questions for eg there is one question above-when the blender is broken how would you provide the vitamised meal to the residents..simply put yourself in that situation and think what if this happens in your house ..I would say something like this – I would use the hand blender or a whisker or a potato masher, basically anything which would do the job, if i cant find any of that then I’ll give those residents something like custard or ready made pureed or anything similar to that available in the kitchen but at the same time I would call and request the management to provide a working blender asap.

Guys please use your common knowledge and figure out your own answer and there is no right or wrong here, the interviewers just want to know you better and what kind of an employee you would prove.
Good luck to all of you.

Hi I have just moved over from England I have a interview but be for that I have a assessment and two questions to answer. Would it be written or is it multiple choice because i have never had to do this before I have been working for fifteen years.

Hi Apple! The exact requirements depend on the facility you’re targeting, but it is always a good idea to have an updated resume and a convincing cover letter. Aged care centres are likely to review your background even if you are just a student since you will have direct contact with their clients after all. This sometimes includes interviews to gauge if you will be a fit in their facility so it’s best to be prepared!

Thank you for a GREAT list of questions that we are able to go over to prepare for an interview. I’m quite frustrated to read everyone’s requests for answers. Why would there be generic answers to these questions, I will answer differently from the next person, so there is no answer to give people. As someone else said, if you need answers, then maybe you shouldn’t be in the industry. I’m looking forward to beginning either my disability or aged care certificate with Inspire, having already completed my training and assessment, I know they are up there with the best in training providers in Australia.

Wow the amount of people needing answers, one can not simply answer questions for you as they are personal experience asked for the person having the interview, so you will need to answer them yourselves, also these may not be the questions you will be asked instead it is a simple guideline to what maybe asked of you.

For everyone asking for the answers you should not be allowed to work in aged care. These are People’s lives you are dealing with and you should be educated enough to answer them . you are endangering people with your lack of knowledge .

Many people are asking if you are asking the answer then you should not be working in Aged Care? What is the relevance of that question? Obviously No one has the answer otherwise they would have answered it. There is no endanger to any resident just because you were not able to answer any questions properly at an Aged Care facility. This is nonsense. Knowledge and experience takes time and patience. All one has to do is learn keep mind take notes never ever take risks and you will be fine. K-an you are a complete arse! You are not endangering anyone’s life if this person is only wanting to be prepared at an interview.

Hi, I just came across this as I am preparing for an interview. Having said that, the answers to all the questions are all common sense and furthermore they all can be found on line, but the questions can be worded differently and if you learn off the answers like a parrot, then what??/ One need to understand the overall picture of what profession as a whole and then only you will realise the importance of learning and having knowledge as the job involves a human being most of whom are all vulnerable..

The person doing the job needs to know the workings of the profession. The person who can really answer questions about yourself is you……your weakness, strengths etc.

It is sad to read the amount of individuals who are asking for answers to get a job. If you have attended your classes and placement, then you should have actively participated and learnt the skills necessary to be able to respond. I would be sad to employ any person who could not respond independently to each situation presented. How are you going to respond to each situation if you are on your own. I would rather hear a response that is your own than a prescripted response. Make your own responses, you are wanting to work in an industry that has people are vulnerable. If you cannot answer them, maybe you need to go back to school. I want be concerned if you were looking after one of my loved ones.

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